[Aboard the Yao-Rover • Deep in the Woods]
Lin Lie bent over the map, his fingers tracing the areas where Si Moheng's forces might hide. His voice was calm, yet it betrayed a subtle tremor. "These paths are irregular... if he is using the remnants of the Sunderers, they must be hiding near the old Trial Valley."
Li Yan glanced at him, saying nothing. He pressed his hand against the Rover's side-plating, activating the stealth mode. It was the first time he had taken the initiative to lead a search deployment, rather than just acting as a guard.
He had always been a steady protector, but now, he moved with a focus born not from duty, but from her.
"She must be waiting for us," Luo Ye whispered, his voice so tight it sounded like it might snap. "We cannot be late."
The Rover glided through the forest in silence. They were more united now than they had ever been.
[Campfire • Night]
Sang Qi sat by the fire, cleaning his medicine vials. He hadn't yet added the powder to the pot. His small kit lay open, the healing salves and clotting powders waiting for someone to use them.
"She always complains these are bitter," Sang Qi murmured to the flames. "But she always swallows them eventually."
A figure stepped from the shadows. Cang Yuan didn't make a joke. Breaking his usual habit, he sat in silence, dropping a blue crystal shard into the fire. The flames reflected an azure glow in his eyes.
"She'll be fine," he said, his voice deep, devoid of his usual playfulness.
Sang Qi didn't reply. He simply handed him a piece of candy. As their eyes met, they both knew what the other was holding back. It wasn't just anxiety; it was the grit required to keep grief from stealing their reason.
At the back of the vehicle, Luo Ye quietly opened an iron box. Inside lay a wrist guard she had sewn—the stitching was crooked and messy. Beside it were the candies they had made together and a note from Xingyu: "Your cooking is better than my mom's."
He let out a bitter laugh. "When I find you... I'm going to make sure you eat the best food every single day." He closed the lid softly.
Inside the cabin, Lin Lie stared at the map until his knuckles turned white.
"I won't let her vanish again," he swore to himself.
Li Yan looked at him. The youth, usually so cold and calculated, now had eyes burning with a Yao-light that seemed to cast his very soul into the road ahead.
"We will bring her back," Li Yan said. His voice was like a low rumble of stone—absolute and undeniable.
[The Secret Chamber]
Gu Xingyu sat quietly on the wooden couch. Her breathing was steady, her surface as calm as still water. But inside, her mind was running a thousand simulations.
Si Moheng had not reappeared. He sent servants with meals and tea daily. The room had no windows, and the constant glow of the Yao-crystals made her lose track of time. She had been recording everything—the frequency of footsteps, the resonance of the walls, the slight shifts in light. She deduced she was in an underground bunker of the old Trial Valley.
When the servant brought dinner that night, Xingyu deliberately tipped the soup bowl onto her skirt. She stood up with a start. "Oh... I'm so sorry. Could you get me a dry cloth?"
The servant hesitated. "I'll go ask..."
As soon as the servant turned, Xingyu swiftly pried a shard of Yao-crystal from the base of the bowl and hid it in her sleeve. It was a tiny fragment, hidden by the craftsmanship, but her sharp eyes hadn't missed it.
I won't be a lamb waiting for the slaughter, she thought, gripping the shard.
That night, the stone door finally groaned open. Si Moheng summoned her.
He sat behind a desk in the Flowing-Yao Pavilion, flipping through a book under the lamplight. "Sit," he said, his tone casual, as if inviting an old friend for tea.
Xingyu took her seat, her eyes clear and devoid of fear.
"I'm surprised you actually waited for me to speak," Si Moheng closed his book. "I thought you would have tried to escape by now."
"I was ready," she said plainly. "I just wanted to see what play you were staging."
Si Moheng arched an eyebrow. "Then tell me—if I said that with one nod, you could stop wandering and become the most respected Saintess in the Yao Realm... would you consider it?"
"You don't mean 'respected,' you mean 'obedient,'" she countered instantly. "If I followed your every whim, I wouldn't be fit to be the Saintess."
He chuckled. "The Saintess is just a tool, packaged beautifully."
"You're wrong," Xingyu's eyes darkened, her voice sharp and cold. "A true Saintess isn't someone who is crowned. She is someone people are willing to die for."
Si Moheng's smile stiffened.
"I thought you were just a mortal pushed onto a pedestal," he said, tapping the desk. "It seems you actually believe in all this."
"I don't believe in fate. I believe in people," she said, looking him in the eye. "The Five Yao didn't walk with me because of destiny. They walked with me because of who I am—just as I believe in who they are. You don't understand that, and that is why you will lose."
The words fell like a hammer in the silence.
Si Moheng's expression turned grim. After a long pause, he said, "If you chose to cooperate, maybe three of the five would survive."
"Then you should worry more about what happens to you when all five survive and find me."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it cut like an ice blade.
Si Moheng stood up, his face returning to a mask of indifference. "Very well. I hope you can still say that tomorrow."
He swept out of the room.
Xingyu stood up slowly and walked back to her cell. In the hallway, her left hand moved slightly. The shard of Yao-crystal was clutched firmly in her palm. She knew the crack in his armor was coming.
Even if there was only a sliver of a chance, she wouldn't wait for a rescue. Because she was the Saintess—but more importantly, she was Gu Xingyu.